ed from the
beginning of November until the 20th or 21st of the same month. At the
same time the Rhone appeared like a succession of immense lakes from
Lyons to Avignon, and from Avignon to the sea. A letter from Nismes, a
little to the west of Avignon, thus described the scene:--

"As far as the view extends we perceive but one sheet of water, in
the midst of which appear the tops of trees and houses, with the
miserable inhabitants perched upon them. At Valabregue, an island on
the Rhone, they have hung out a black banner from the church-yard,
nearly two thousand persons being assembled in that spot, which is on
an elevation. Steam-boats are attempting to carry bread to
Valabregue, and other similarly situated places, but can scarcely
effect it from the inequality of the ground. For ten days the rains
have never ceased. The space covered by the waters near Avignon is
calculated at about thirty-six leagues in length and sixty leagues in
breadth. Human bodies are seen passing continually on the waters."

From the 10th to the 20th of November the Rhone fell several inches each
day, but always rose again somewhat during the night. It began
permanently to decline on the 20th, and in a few days the streets were
exposed to view, with about a foot of mud on them. The loss of life and
property, through this calamity, are almost incalculable.

A still grander display of the power and extent of inundations is
afforded by the American rivers. The mighty waters of the Mississippi,
(a river, whose course extends for several thousand miles,) when swelled,
and overflowing their banks, present a wonderful spectacle. Unlike the
mountain-torrents, and small rivers, of other parts of the world, the
Mississippi rises slowly, continuing for several weeks to increase at the
rate of about an inch in a day. When at its height, it undergoes little
change for some days, and after this subsides as slowly as it rose. A
flood generally lasts from four to six weeks, though it sometimes extends
to two months. The American naturalist, Audubon, has given a striking
account of the rush of waters overspreading the land when once this
mighty river has begun to overflow its banks:--

"No sooner has the water reached the upper part of the banks, than it
rushes out, and overspreads the whole of the neighbouring swamps,
presenting an ocean overgrown with stupendous forest trees. So